Ordinary
by 24601who.am.i
Summary: "Why would you want me? I'm just... ordinary. Why me?" She asks him, and it's the question he's been wondering since the beginning. "I think that ordinary is just what I need."-Steve Rogers meets a Shopgirl, and falls head over heels. But how will someone so ordinary fit into his crazy life? Steve Rogers X OC
1. Chapter 1

**Ordinary**

**Authors Note: **After listening to my favorite love song, several times the idea for this story hit me, and would not leave me be. So, here it is.  
I do not own Marvel.

Chapter 1

It'd be easy to pretend that he was looking for books, or even stopping in for a cup of coffee. Steve knows better though, and he knows that after stopping in every day for a month, that it's not for the books. It's to catch a glimpse of the girl behind the counter.

There's nothing too spectacular about her, except that when she smiles, Steve feels all the breath leave his lungs, and his stomach turn into knots.

He walks in, bombarded by the familiar smell of coffee and old pages, and he realizes today is an empty day, him being the only customer there so far. This past month he's come to realize that this small book shop is privately owned, and doesn't get nearly as much business as one of the commercially owned ones. But they have the best coffee around, he has to admit. As the door closes, the bells jingling to announce his presence, he looks up to see if she's there. And just like every other day, she is; her nose stuck in a book, a cup of coffee in her hand, and a small smile on her lips.

As if she knows he's staring at her, she looks up from her book and smiles at him.

Still too awkward to talk to girls easily, except Natasha, he blushes and smiles back before hiding himself behind one of the book shelves. His eyes flicker to the books he's standing in front of, all books of poetry. It's a topic he's never been too interested in, but when it's just him in the store, he sees the girl looking through these books most of all. Suddenly he realizes how much of a coward he is, completely unable to face a pretty girl. Not just a pretty girl, but one who's caught his attention in a way none has since Peggy. He turns so that he's not facing that direction at all, in the slightest, and he begins to promise himself that he will speak to her. Today. _I am Captain America! I'm an Avenger! I helped defeat Loki and the Chitauri Army, I can talk to a shop-girl-_

"Can I help you?" The voice from behind startles him, and he nearly knocks over the book shelf, sending several books flying. The girl looks between him and the book shelf, eyes wide, not sure how to respond in that moment. He just stares at her, not quite sure how to start the conversation he's been dying to have, and by the looks of it, she's not going to say much either. She bites her bottom lip and rocks back on her heels nervously, her red skirt swaying around her knees. "I didn't mean to startle you, Sir, I just... you looked like you maybe had a question?" A few deep breaths, and a few more seconds spent in an agonizingly awkward silence, and he finally responds,

"Yes. Uh..." Two words. Well, almost words. His heart is about flying out of his chest, and he has no idea what to say or do in this moment, especially when she's looking up at him with her big brown eyes, "What book were you just reading?" She blinks a few times, not having expected that question, and she laughs softly before looking at her feet.

"_Les Miserables." _She responds, and he nods slowly, then chuckles.

"Can't say I've heard of it," He tells her honestly, and she shrugs.

"It's only possibly the greatest book ever written." She says, very seriously, before giggling. He laughs softly, some of the nerves starting to fade away.

"Really? That good, huh? Maybe I'll have to um... read it... sometime." He tells her, "Then maybe we can um... talk about it... over a cup of coffee, since it seems you have quite a fondness for that as well." A few moments of her just looking up at him, not sure how to take his awkward demeanor, and she nods.

"How fast of a reader are you? It might take you a while." She says teasingly, choosing not to give a direct response to his idea of coffee. He raises an eyebrow and smiles, making her stomach twist in knots, and she's not sure why, "But then, I don't know. You _are _in here every day, so you must go through books pretty fast. Or you have a serious coffee addiction." His smile widens just a bit, and he looks at his feet.

"Well, it will probably take me a while, so how about we get coffee, then we can discuss Less Miserabless." He says, butchering the enunciation so bad the girl can't help but wince and laugh at him a bit.

"No one would mistake you for French would they?" She says softly, her eyes lighting up with laughter. Again, Steve wonders what it is about this silly shop girl that has his brain working backwards, his palms sweating, his face turning red...

"I'd hope not, I'm just a boy from Brooklyn." He tells her, "So. Coffee. What time is your shift over here?" She blushes, not having expected him to really be persistent about getting coffee with her. And he can see her hesitating, and he hopes it's not because she's already taken. He wonders what to do or say in this moment of awkward silence when she nods again.

"I get off at five-thirty..." She tells him. He smiles warmly, having succeeded, and she looks at him, still an air of hesitancy looming around her.

"I'll be here to pick you up at five-thirty then..." He trails off, realizing he hadn't asked her for her name, and she smiles, taking his breath away.

"My name is Allie." She tells him softly, glad to see that smile on his face again, "Five thirty it is..."

"Steve... Steven Rogers." And with that, he turns and leaves her there with a baffled look on her face.


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors Note: **Teeheehee, followers:) Super excited about that. I'm also a sucker for cheesy, fluffy, romance, so, yeah.  
I don't own Marvel

Chapter 2

Steve heads back to Avengers Tower, knowing he's got a few hours yet until five-thirty. The nerves are killing him. He wonders vaguely where he's going to take her, if she'll let him walk her home, if she'll let him hold her hand, if the hesitation in her eyes will be gone by then.

"Oh hey Captain Kangaroo, Fury called. Has an assignment for you." Tony says, walking in and grabbing a bowl of raspberries from the fridge. He leans against the counter and looks at Steve warily. "You seem extremely tense today, Rogers."

"Fury called?" Steve asks, ignoring his last statement. Tony nods, popping a few berries in his mouth.

"Yeah, didn't tell me what the assignment was, and I wasn't bored enough to hack into their system to find out. He said to call him as soon as possible. You're fidgeting. You're nervous. What's the deal?" Steve asks, his words muffled by fruit.

"I'm not fidgeting, Stark, and I'm not nervous about anything." Steve says defensively, but Tony rolls his eyes, not believing him. Steve ignores him and grabs a gatorade from the fridge before rolling his eyes and heading to his room to call Fury.

Allie is staring down the clock. Normally, she'd be able to lose herself in a book, but now her heart is racing in anticipation of five-thirty. A huge part of her wanted to reject him, the part of her heart that is so _so _done with getting hurt. But the smile on that young mans face, the genuine desire just to get coffee with her. It took a bit of convincing of herself, but she said yes.

"Ma'am? Can I get a medium black coffee?" A woman asks, holding a phone to her ear. Allie nods, reaching behind her. The coffee bar is right behind the counter where they ring up books. In thought-filled silence, she pours the womans drink, all the while trying to convince herself that saying yes to that man hadn't been the worst idea she'd ever had.

The butterflies in her stomach are more than excited to see those blue eyes again, but the voice in her head keeps telling her that he'll break her heart. She promised herself eight months ago that she wouldn't fall in love, because love only ever ends in metaphorical ashes.

"Cheer up, Sugar. That pretty smile of yours always brightens my day," The woman says as Allie hands her the coffee. And those words alone are a shock to hear. The woman just nods, pays for her coffee and leaves without another word. To be honest, Allie had never really acknowledged the woman who came in every day. The only person lately that she'd even noticed outside of her brother and his wife had been the man who came in every day. The one she was going to see later for coffee.

A few deep breaths later, and an attempt to get into her book once again, but she finds it quite pointless. Who _is _this guy? She wonders, he's extremely attractive. _Too attractive for me. He could probably have any girl out there. _A scoff escapes her lips, although no one's there to hear. _He's been in here _every day! _And bought one book. _The words are almost a scramble on the pages in front of her, but she knows that sitting here, wondering why Steven Rogers asked her out is going to do nothing but mess with her brain. There was something familiar about his face, but she couldn't pin point what it was. After a sip of her coffee, she tells herself she'll figure it out later.

Her eyes flicker to the clock once again, and it's almost five. The time's gone by _way _too slow. But she ignores that, and tells herself she'll at least finish the chapter she's on before five-thirty. The world of her book sweeps her away, and as the butterflies finally start to disappear, she hears the door open, and her brother step in... which means it's five-thirty. Which means the butterflies fill her stomach all over again. Aaron saunters in, straightening a few of the books on the shelves and smiling at his sister.

"Hey Sissy." He says, kissing the top of her head and peering over her shoulder to see what book she's reading.

"Hey Aaron." She replies automatically, rolling her eyes as he scoffs and pours himself a cup of coffee.

"Seriously? That book _again?! _Can't you recite it by now?" He asks, and she shakes her head, "How busy were we today?"

"Not very." She tells him, "Only the usuals came in." He nods slowly, clearly in deep thought about something. Probably the fact that business isn't doing as well as it should. Allie feels really bad about it, knowing that this shop is her brothers dream. "How's the wife?" Allie asks as she begins to pack up her things.

"Not too bad, you know. Trying to work and take care of a two year old. Who's the hunk waiting outside?" He asks with a teasing grin. Seeing how red her face turns, he can't help but laugh out loud.

"Shut up, Aaron." She says seriously, and he chuckles softly before tossing his messenger bag down and pulling out his laptop to get the financial stuff done.

"No, I'm happy for you. Moving on, that's a good thing." He tells her, "Besides, this guy's a lot hotter than that last sleazebag you dated." Allie looks away, not wanting him to see the obvious hurt on her face, "And he's got manners. Seriously." She nods, picking up her bag to leave and heading towards the door, "But Allie?" She looks at him over her shoulder, and sees that's he's being serious, "Be careful." She nods once, and walks out the door.

"So is Allie a nickname?" Steve asks as the two walk down the street. It's five-thirty, so the streets are kind of busy. She looks up at him and nods.

"Yeah, I hate my name." She says with a laugh, "It's Allison." He looks at her and raises one eyebrow.

"Allison?" He asks with a slight chuckle, and she nods.

"Allison Rosaline Chase." He smiles, and repeats her name quietly, making her blush.

"You've got a beautiful name." She raises an eyebrow this time and shakes her head, "Allison..."

"It's Allie, Steve-oh." He winces at that nickname, glad that Tony hasn't tried that one yet, and nods slowly.

"Okay, I'll call you Allie." He concedes and she smiles triumphantly, making him smile to, "As long as you never _ever _call me _Steve-oh _again." She laughs out loud, and he can't help but smile wider.

"Is Steven okay?" She asks with a grin, and he pretends to think about it for a few moments before shrugging.

"Steven's fine." He answers, still trying to recover from that awful nickname. She laughs and twirls her hair between her pinkie and ring finger, something that shouldn't capture his attention but does. A weird quirk he'd never really noticed before that makes him smile. She looks at him, a smile still playing on her lips, as she asks,  
"So you know I'm a barista at a book shop. What do you do, Steven Rogers?" And there's the question he'd been hoping wouldn't come up. Apparently she notices the look of hesitation on his face, "Is it really that bad? What do you own the Barnes and Noble down the street? I don't see you as a book shop owner." He blushes bright red but smiles at that, and looks at his feet nervously.

"Uh. No, I'm not... I um... I'm... A soldier." He says slowly, tentatively, and she nods slowly, not sure how to take his hesitancy to tell her that. He wonders how much he should and shouldn't tell her... he didn't totally lie, but he knows just telling her he's a soldier is definitely hiding a lot.

"A soldier, huh?" She says, trying to hide her shock as he opens the door to the cafe for her. A blush creeps across her face anyway, but Steve doesn't notice as he stares at the ground.

"Yep." He responds, the awkward silence back again, but he pulls out her chair for her, and she just looks between him and it for a moment, not quite sure what to do. Literally, she has no idea how to respond in that moment. As booksmart as she is, as many gentleman as she's read about in century old books, when it comes to facing one, she's completely lost. He gives her a confused look and gestures towards her chair once again, and she blushes bright red, "I-I was just... getting your chair for you..." She blushes an even crazier shade of red as she smiles, completely taken aback, and sits. "Sorry, I didn't realize-"

"I didn't realize there were still gentlemen in the world." She interrupts, not wanting to hear his apology, especially considering it was her who ought to apologize. His face softens into a kind smile again, especially hearing the slight tone of hurt in her tone. "Your mother must've raised you right." Steve chuckles before handing her a menu, and taking one for himself.

"Yeah, I guess so. Where I come from, I guess it was a lot more common to find manners." She laughs at that without much real humor. Suddenly, she seems a bit bitter, a look of heartbreak in her eyes which she doesn't even realize.

"Wow. I think I'll move there." She says with a harsh bite of sarcasm, which she tries to soften with a giggle. Steve nods slowly, not having expected her to respond so bitterly. But he can understand that, seeing as the world is full of men that don't know how to treat a woman.

"It's uh... changed a lot though." He tells her, and she looks up, shocked at the pained way he'd said it. She sees him avoiding her gaze, staring out the window.

"A lot of things do." She whispers, "So. Let's three-sixty this conversation, I can't stand the depressing stuff. Tell me more about yourself, Soldier. You a big reader? You were in the shop every day," He smiles and shakes his head, glad for the subject change. He's finding her pretty easy to talk to, surprisingly. There's a part of him that wants to heal the bitter hurt he sees in her eyes every so often, and there's a smaller part that wonders what may've happened to put it there in the first place.

"No uh... I uh... yeah, no. For a while I was trying to uh... get to know the world a little better I suppose... but, then I kind of..."

"Became addicted to our coffee?" She suggests quite seriously, but with laughter twinkling in her eyes, "It happens. Trust me." The laugh that escapes his lips makes her smile widely. Suddenly, she wants to hear him laugh again, but she has no idea how to do that. She's heard more than enough times that she's not funny in the slightest.

"No, I uh... was trying to man-up enough to talk to you actually." He admits with a chuckle, hoping he doesn't blush. Allie raises an eyebrow, not quite sure she heard him right. She has no idea how to respond to that, but luckily, the waitress chooses then to show up and ask for their orders. Relief is evident on both of their faces as they both order regular coffee, Steve a sandwich, Allie a salad. They both look at eachother, and Allie looks away, blushing and giggling.

"So why me?" She asks, "What was it about me that made you keep coming into the bookshop? That made you want to talk to me?" And this time Steve looks away, almost afraid to answer.

"I don't know." He tells her honestly, "You smiled at me, I guess." And he remembers that moment clearly: He walked in, mostly just to see what kind of shop it was, to grab some books and catch up on the times. But when he turned around, he saw some completely unassuming girl, reading some tome that she'd probably call a book. And she looked up, and her serious expression melted away into a wide smile just for him.

"I'm sure lots of beautiful women smile at you, Steven." She says with a chuckle, "You're not exactly rough on the eyes." Steve blushes this time, and looks out the window for a moment. A fleeting thought runs through his head that maybe that's the only reason she agreed to come.

"So. Why'd you say yes?" He asks wanting to turn the question around, "To me? Some crazy, weird-"

"Please do _not _call yourself crazy or weird." She says very seriously, "And just because I said you were attractive doesn't mean that's the only reason I said yes. Hardly. There are plenty of attractive men out there, and ninety-nine percent of them are total jerks." Suddenly he wonders how she knows that, but knows better than to ask, he's seen that look on Natasha's face before, and it's not one to be messed with, "You... seem different." He nods.

"I think I am." He says shyly, looking up at her with a smile. She looks at her cup of coffee and smiles.

"I think you are too." She tells him, before looking up and smiling, "You know, I think I might even like you, Steven Rogers." At that the smile that lights up his face makes her forget her own name, and she can't help but smile back.

"I think I might like you too, Allison Chase."


End file.
